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Sell yourself or have somebody do it for you?

Tags: freelance, sales, selling_services

Jenna from Sunny Florida (Contact Member) -

I have done quite a bit of freelancing work myself and have tried to get people to sell for me in the past, but it never worked. Have others been successful in getting a sales force behind your services or do you just do it yourself?

Comment #1 Nancy from Los Angeles (Contact Member) -

I think it is best if you make a website to sell your services. For example if you you do graphic arts...

You make a graphic arts website not a "YOU" website. That way people are buying "graphic arts" services not "YOUR" services.

There is a slight but important difference there.

Comment #2 SomeoneAwful from The World (Contact Member) -

Another good way to "sell yourself" is on the street... no I'm just kidding. You can do it on eBay, I did that once; I got some inquiries, but nobody bought. However, it might work for you.

Comment #3 Courtney from Texas (Contact Member) -

Look around on the internet for some tips on selling yourself. You could give it a shot on your own for the first six to eight months and see how it works out. Afterall these things take time. After that if you feel like you aren't getting anywhere, then seek further advice or someone to do it for you.

Comment #4 Sweet_River from Downtown Tijuana, South (Contact Member) -

Mainly you need to sell yourself. You sell your freelance services by going to the websites that need your services and sending a private message to the owners just as you would if you were doing on the street. You sent out resumes to companies that need your services by mail well you do the same thing on the net.

All you need are a few takers and then by word of mouth more work will come in. It is a slow process when doing it this way but it does work.

If you go out in your area (if you live in or near a city) and cold call on companies you believe would benefit from your services this coud bring in some faster results.

The first thing anyone has to do is sell themselves and then sell their product, even if that product is you and if it is you and you have sold yourself then you don't have to go to the second step.

Comment #5 Nancy from Los Angeles (Contact Member) -

"going to the websites that need your services and sending a private message to the owners"

I would absolutely never buy from someone that did that (and would probably never see their email). Like the link exchange morons that email when my website has the complete instructions already on it.

Make a good website, with good examples and they will come to you. Post in forums (on topic) where your message will be welcome.

Comment #6 SomeoneAwful from The World (Contact Member) -

I would never buy from someone who offered their services to me directly, like one-on-one, unless I knew them for awhile. I don't know why, it just wouldn't feel right, like they're acting like my friend when I don't even know them.

Comment #7 PokerPrincess from Hogstown, The Universe (Contact Member) -

Definitely Websites are good for selling but you need to have the traffic to make it worthwhile so you really do have to sell yourself.

Go to forums or sites where you think your services would be greatley needed and talk to the site Webmaster about how you would be allowed to sell your products.

Some forums have miscellaneous threads where you can pretty much put anything in even links to your site. Try to work out a deal with the forum because they are always looking for money as well. Offer them either points towards purchases or credits for anyone who joins through your banner at their forum.

Comment #8 jnights from Las Vegas (Contact Member) -

There are some sites out there like guru.com and elance.com that let you sell your services. I personally had more success selling myself through word of mouth and advertising than those sites. I find that there are a lot of people offering the world for ridiculously low prices. It doesn't always matter that their quality is poor as the clients are blindsided by the price.

Comment #9 Sapphire from Outer Space (Contact Member) -

You know yourself better than anyone else does, and nobody in the world cares as much as you do about whether or not you are a success. Therefore, the one person you can really count on is you! I'm all for self promotion. if you do it yourself it'll get done right, or if it doesn't, you have noone but yourself to blame.

Comment #10 SomeoneAwful from The World (Contact Member) -

Well, you could pay someone to make a site for you, and maybe even write the copy, but if I were someone, I would write the copy and have the designer look it over and tell me if it looked effective.

Comment #11 nygirl from see username (Contact Member) -

Personally, I would sell myself. Make your prices reasonable and not excessively cheap. The one complaint I have heard from a client regarding choosing a freelancer is, "if they are that cheap how good is the work?" In some cases you do get what you paid for.

Comment #12 Jenna from Sunny Florida (Contact Member) -

I agree with the 'you get what you pay for' philosophy. I have seen numerous companies try the outsourcing route only to come back to local shores and start fromm scratch. It's very tempting to pay ridiculously low rates, but the end result is usually horrible when it's too cheap to be true.

Comment #13 Dell from Philippines (Contact Member) -

you have to sell yourself of course. someone who do it for you will just give you an extra cost. look for prospects local to you in craigslist.org if you are not aware of that.

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